iLRN2021 7th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network

Presentations

Modeling Teacher Use of Virtual Reality Simulations in Nursing Education Using Epistemic Network Analysis
Mamta Shah(1), Amanda L Siebert-Evenstone(2), Brendan R Eagan(2), Roxanne Holthaus(1)
1: Elsevier; 2: University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Simulations are widely adopted in undergraduate nursing education because they offer low-risk, experiential ways to expose pre-licensure students to clinical environments, and to situate the development of requisite knowledge and skills for patient care. Virtual reality (VR) simulations present novel opportunities for clinical education; as such, research in this area is burgeoning around questions related to perception, adoption, and outcomes. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of epistemic network analysis, a quantitative ethnography technique, to model how one nursing educator facilitated clinical judgment and nurtured quality and safety education for nurses’ competencies through the use of Simulation Learning System with Virtual Reality (SLS with VR). We modeled the discourse obtained from three simulation sessions in October and November 2020, all involving a fundamental scenario requiring second-year nursing students to practice basic assessment and care management. Our work aims to advance research in medical and health education, particularly nursing education, using immersive learning environments by way of applying theory-backed learning analytic techniques.


CureQuest: A Digital Game for New Drug Discovery
Ben Chang, Shawn Lawson, Kathleen Ruiz, Mei Si
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United States of America
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CureQuest is an educational adventure game about Clinical Translational Therapeutics, the process of discovery and development of new medical treatments, drugs, devices, and therapies. The game is being developed through a collaboration between faculty and students from a game design program and those from a medical school, with the goal of raising awareness and improving collaboration in the "bench to bedside" process. CureQuest aims to address this gap, first with medical students and ultimately for a general audience, with a game that instills wonder and inspires players with the challenges of drug discovery. In addition to the impact of the game when completed, the development process itself presents a novel case study in integrating the interdisciplinary fields of game development and “team science”. We present the current version of the game in development; the unique design challenges presented by the project; and the evolution of our collaborative process.

Presentations
 
Place-Based Learning through a Proxy – Variations in the Perceived Benefits of a Virtual Tour
Jan Oliver Wallgrün(1), Eric Knapp(2), Alan Taylor(3), Alexander Klippel(3), Jiayan Zhao(3), Pejman Sajjadi(3)
1: Independent Researcher; 2: US Forest Service; 3: Penn State University
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Place-based and fieldwork learning play a key role in higher education in environmental sciences and other geo-spatial disciplines. We report on a study in which we evaluated a web-based virtual tour application for teaching natural resource management in fire-prone western forests in two undergraduate classes. The virtual tour uses 360°-image-based virtual scenes and pre-recorded audio commentary by a domain expert to lead participants through the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest where forest treatments were implemented to reduce fire hazard. We present results from assessing students’ overall perception of the virtual tour, their views towards its application in undergraduate education, and their feedback for improving the design of future virtual tours. Furthermore, we discuss the collected data from the perspective of gender differences and differences in familiarity with the topic of the tour.
 
 
Spatial Learning with Extended Reality - A Review of User Studies
Bing Liu(1), Linfang Ding(2), Liqiu Meng(1)
1: Chair of Cartography, Technical University of Munich, Germany; 2: KRDB Research Centre, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
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Spatial learning is a process of acquiring spatial knowledge and the foundation of our daily interactions with the living environment. Extended reality (XR) has been widely used in spatial learning research for decades with two representative types - Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR). VR is often used to understand spatial learning behavior and spatial cognition process, and AR has great potential to assist spatial learning in real world. This short paper reviews the studies on the deployment of VR and AR to evaluate or assist spatial learning. We summarize the devices, technologies and analysis methods used, and identify factors that need to be considered in experimental design. Our work serves as a reference for new researchers who intend to design further user studies on spatial learning with VR and AR technologies.

Presentations

Engagement in In-Game Questionnaires - Perspectives from Users and Experts
Alexander Steinmaurer, Martin Sackl, Christian Gütl
Graz University of Technology, Austria
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Questionnaires are important instruments to gather information from people in a wide range of application scenarios, such as analyzing the responses for evaluations, collecting preferences, or retrieving self-estimations in learning settings. However, based on the setting and design of a questionnaire participating can be boring or frustrating and consequently have a negative impact on results or disengage users. Literature reports negative findings in immersive simulations and learning games, where assessment and questionnaires are provided outside the learning experience. In this paper, we introduce an approach to integrate questionnaires into a game environment. Thereby, we want to provide learners with an engaging way to answer questions. To encourage them in participating, they receive rewards for completing questions. We performed two evaluations, an A/B study with 22 participants and an evaluation with 14 experts in subject-related fields. We could show that learners are more engaged in the in-game questionnaire and integrated questions make them more likely to respond. We could also identify strategies to obtain more reliable responses such as asking questions right after a task or including gamification elements. Findings can contribute to design more engaging applications or learning environments where evaluation and feedback have significance for both educators and learners.

Presentations
 
Immersive Technology in the Public School Classroom: When a Class Meets
Samuel Williams(1), Rowena Enatsky(2), Holly Gillcash(2), James Murphy(2), Denis Gracanin(1)
1: Virginia Tech, United States of America; 2: CLS STEM+, United States of America
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Recent research suggests that students feel disconnected in distance educational environments. There is an immediate and sustained need for innovative approaches that provide personalized and interactive instruction, digital equity, and scale-up remote teaching. Shared, collaborative virtual spaces, such as Mozilla Hubs, can provide new learning modalities for educators and students, especially during the pandemic. We describe our experience with using Mozilla Hubs in formal and informal educational settings. We conducted several user studies to collect qualitative feedback from the participants. These studies include an educator workshop, a girl scout meeting, and a class gathering. The findings provide an insight how practical, useful, and entertaining such virtual spaces are to the participants.
 
 
Project Learn&Play: Piloting A Game-based Instruction For Students In Comparison To An Engineering Lecture
Anna Seidel, Franziska Weidle, Claudia Börner
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany
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Challenges stemming from change processes such as the climate crisis are ubiquitous. To address these challenges, highly skilled specialists are needed. However, engineering courses show a decrease in enrolment numbers and high drop-out rates. Furthermore, engineering students represent a rather homogeneous group. Since diverse groups are more innovative and effective in addressing future problems, it is desirable to increase not only the quantity but also the diversity of enrolments. Therefore, the project x utilises a game-based instruction to raise interest in engineering. To examine the effects of the game as well as differences in contrast to conventional instructions, a study in a within-subject-design was conducted. Regarding motivational variables, the self-concept of ability and cognition, only a main effect of cognition and an interaction effect for cognition and gender could be detected. Furthermore, recorded gameplay sessions gave useful insights into the engagement process as well as influential effects.

Synapse VR: Catalyzing Collaboration through Immersive Learning
Cat Flynn, Seth Corrigan, Faby Gagne
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Please pardon our dust as we replaced this one Sched session with 29 individual sessions.  Please visit the booths in the Expo Hall!

Presentations

Pandemic pirouettes: AR Ballet Exploring Data Ethics for the Computing Classroom
Genevieve Smith-Nunes(1), Alex Shaw(2)
1: University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; 2: Glaston Bridge Software
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This Doctoral Colloquium paper explores the pivot from in-person to virtual and digital means in developing an Augment Reality (AR) classical ballet experience due to Covid-19. This work-in-progress explores novel teaching and learning approaches to the computing concepts of data transmission, signal processing, and therefore necessarily data ethics through classical ballet and bio-metric data the body and brain waves as data artefacts, the data ethics implications of bio-metrics. Innovative approaches to subject knowledge, programming competency, and probing engender thinking of the field of computing if any. This study uses the emergent methodology of AgileDBR, a hybrid of design-based research (DBR) and Agile developed as part of author one's Ph.D.

Designing VR Environments For Distance Learning
Richard Ngu Leubou(1,2), Benoit Crespin(1), Marc Trestini(2)
1: XLIM UMR CNRS 7252, University of Limoges, France; 2: LISEC UR 2310, University of Strasbourg, France
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Virtual reality takes learner participation to a higher level of interaction, offering a real experience and a new way to acquire real-world in a distance learning device. Designing VR environments for distance learning leads to an examination of the technical and methodological choices to ensure a useful, usable and efficient tool. Our work is based on the design approaches and recommendations from existing works related to VR and/or distance learning, in order to formalize the design of collaborative VR environments specifically dedicated to distance learning.

A Qualitative Study to Explore the Use of Augmented Reality as Performance Support in Industries
Yao Huang
Florida State University, United States of America
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When augmented reality (AR) technology is used in the learning and development field, it is often viewed from a training perspective. Human Performance Technology (HPT) professionals start to explore the potential of adopting AR on mobile devices as a performance support tool to help field workers across industries. This paper captures the adoption of how mobile AR is used in organizations to address performance issues. The study will use the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to interview ten organizations. The purpose is to uncover the critical events on why mobile AR is considered an appropriate intervention, what benefits and challenges the organizations encounter, what processes are followed when designing and implementing mobile AR, and what types and functions of mobile AR are used to assist job performance.

Immersive Media in Remote Schooling: “I was surprised at how engaged I was”
Eileen McGivney
Harvard University, United States of America
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With protracted school closures forcing young people to learn remotely, schools are in urgent need of innovative approaches that can keep students engaged in their education and support their learning. Immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree videos have been shown to increase motivation to learn and student focus, but little is known about their effectiveness in a remote schooling model. This paper reports preliminary results of a mixed methods case study using 360-videos and Google Cardboard viewers in remote high school engineering classes. The students’ surveys and interviews indicate they find online learning difficult, but that 360-videos are more engaging than other instructional media and may be particularly useful for facilitating observational learning.

VeRdict: Imbuing VR Language Learning Applications with Dictionary Functionality
Louis Lecailliez, Noel H. Vincent
Kyoto University, Japan
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As VR hardware becomes increasingly performant and accessible, interest has grown among researchers regarding how to leverage its immersive qualities in an educational context. Immersion, however, often comes at the expense of multitasking functionality and use of supplementary learning resources. This presents an issue for language learners, who upon encountering an unfamiliar word in VR, may have to remove their goggles or switch applications to consult a dictionary. Thus, in order to make dictionary use more immersive and convenient for learners, we present VeRdict, a dictionary extension for VR learning applications that enables dictionary searches from directly within an application using motion controls. Its client-server architecture allows for the delivery of lexicographic content augmented with optional 3D object data, which can be used to display dictionary entries and accompanying 3D visuals. The dictionary can be used to perform manual vocabulary searches using a virtual keyboard, or be used through labels applied to elements within the virtual scene. Additionally, 3D objects loaded from the dictionary server can be used as virtual `props'—unlocking new gesture-based communicative possibilities.

Presentations

Great Paintings in Fully Immersive Virtual Reality
Hubert Cecotti
California State University, Fresno, United States of America
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Large collections of paintings have been digitized by museums (e.g. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New-York, USA) and companies such as Google. These resources can be provided to a wide audience through virtual reality as an instructional means to fully convey the size and the magnificence of these paintings. Accessing these resources in an immersive virtual environment can be beneficial to all the students who live far away from museums. In addition, making these resources available to a wide audience answers a current need related to the closure of many museums, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper provides a description of a fully immersive virtual reality museum where paintings can be accessed in two modes: individually (one painting per room), or in galleries (multiple paintings in a room) that are generated procedurally. More importantly, the proposed application provides a means for museums and art instructors to insert their own collections of paintings. Such an approach aims at improving the transition of high resolution images of paintings into art galleries in virtual reality. The application has been deployed on the Steam platform, is available for free, and has been evaluated by users, suggesting a high interest for such an application.


Alternative Design For An Interactive Exhibit Learning In Museums: How Does User Experience Differ Across Different Technologies-VR, Tangible, And Gesture
Pornphan Phichai(1), Julie Williamson(2), Matthew Barr(3)
1: School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom; 2: School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom; 3: School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
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This paper investigates three types of user interfaces: VR, Gesture-based interface, and Tangible-based interface. We examine how user experience differs across different technology and what are the factors that make the experience difference. To find the answer we conduct an empirical study, in which we create three different interactive exhibits that apply these technologies to deliver the same scientific content about biotoxin in nature. The study uses a mixed-method, qualitative and quantitative, and measures two factors. First, user experience is measured by six dimensions of user experience: attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, simulation, and novelty. Second, attention holding power is measured by playing time. The study uses the semi-structured interview to emphasize the issue and learning media of each interface. Thirty-one subjects joined the study. The statistical results shows that there are significantly different user experiences when using a different type of interface. There are difference across five user experience dimensions, only novelty is relatively unchanged. Difference are primarily between VR and Gesture, and Tangible and Gesture. There is no significant difference in holding power between the three types of interface. The statistical analysis of result and interview feedback from participants suggest six aspects to focus on when choosing an alternative interface to create a new interactive exhibit: the novelty, user-friendly, precision of the input device, task and device design, multimodal of feedback, and quality of text in VR.


Communal Spaces As Ludic Resources Of Learning With Augmented Reality And Board Games
Kenneth Y. T. Lim(1), Yuk Yi Wong(2), Ahmed Hazyl Hilmy(1)
1: National Institute of Education, Singapore; 2: St Joseph's Institution, Singapore
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This paper describes a learning activity using Augmented Reality (AR) which seeks to take advantage of the potential for learning about history and culture through exploration. This is represented by a garden in a university campus that affords visitors a scaffolded experience comprising a game-driven narrative in which visitors to the garden may assume the roles of different protagonists. In addition, we also sought to design a paper-based board-game for visitors who are not yet able to visit the garden in person. Both aspects of the learning activity – namely, the game-driven narratives in the actual garden as well as in the board-game equivalent – were piloted in December 2020. The study suggests that a combination of Augmented Reality, storyline and role-play could increase the probability of encounters with spontaneous elements in learners’ local environments that encourage learning.

​​​​Presentations

Comparison of Direct and Vicarious VR Learning Experience: A Perspective from Accessibility and Equity
Gege Li, Heng Luo, Shaopeng Hou, Min Zhu
Central China Normal University, China, People's Republic of
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A common challenge for adopting virtual reality (VR) in education is that limited VR devices are often shared among a large group of students. Consequently, there are two types of VR learners: Performers who acquire virtual learning experience through direct engagement in VR and observers who acquire such experience vicariously through observation. To explore the influence of learner type on VR learning, this study conducted a quasi-experiment with 53 elementary school students to examine the difference in VR learning experiences between the performers and the observers. The study results supported the observed VR learning experience as an adequate alternative to direct VR engagement as the observers demonstrated overall comparable learning patterns in reflection, emotion, engagement, and social interaction during the post-VR debriefing, except for the behaviors of recall and interpretation. The research findings can shed light on the issues of accessibility and equity in VR-based instruction and inform the design and implementation of large-scale VR educational programs.

Student Engagement with Reduced Bias in a Virtual Classroom Environment
Ray Freiwirth1, Esther Brandon
1; The Commons XR, United States of America; 2: Brandeis University, United States of America
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To Transcend is critical, but the path must contain a mechanism to both combat dis-engagement and bias in a classroom environment. Why bias and engagement issues as one; because one can create an issue with the other. Not all engagement issues are bias related, but many are. And not all bias issues may create dis-engagement, but certainly there are many studies that seem to point that it can. Why not use tools in the classroom that can improve engagement and reduce both explicit and implicit bias? Virtual reality is one such tool if used correctly. Join us to explore the possibilities of a classroom environment that might help out the next generation of students to transcend the norms of today!

Presentations

ActiVaR: XR for Education in Sustainable Development
Jimmy Vainstein, Diego Angel-Urdinola
The World Bank, United States of America

The World Bank started the deployment of VR, AR and immersive tools to support Education institutions in Ecuador to develop, improve, and reinforce students’ skills. The use of the technology aimed to help technical institutes overcome challenges related to imitations in availability of hands-on training, costly equipment or access to proper content and learning situations. Education institutions in developing countries generally lack resources to equip, maintain, and update laboratories, which are an important resource to develop, improve, and reinforce students’ skills. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual reality (VR) technologies have promising potential as tools to develop cost-effective virtual labs. The presentation will showcase the World Bank’s strategy for evaluating the impact of the Active Training Using Augmented and Virtual Reality “ActiVaR” Program, a pilot program that seeks to assess the effectiveness of using Zspace based Virtual Labs to deliver training in auto-mechanics in a selected Technical and Technological Program in Ecuador, in addition to Industrial Risk VR headset-based simulations. The program seeks to improve basic cognitive skills of students after they have been exposed to the basic principles of the operation of internal combustion engines and general industrial safety practices.

Inclusive VR through Inclusive Co-Design with Neurodiverse Learners
Ibrahim Dahlstrom-Hakki(1), Teon Edwards(1), Jamie Larsen(1), Zachary Alstad(1), Gerald Belton(2), Daniel Lougen(2), Daniel Santana(2)
1: TERC; 2: Landmark College
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This paper reports on a fully inclusive co-design process of an informal VR science game intended to be accessible to a broad range of learners. The co-design embraces the 'nothing about us without us' movement by ensuring that stakeholder voices have a prominent role throughout the design process. In the project described in this paper, professional designers and researchers work with a team of neurodiverse stakeholders as peer members of the design team. The design process is described, and the findings based on feedback from all co-design participants is reported. Recommendations for others in the field are provided to help guide those interested in implementing an effective and inclusive co-design process.

Presentations

Logibot: Promoting Engagement through Visual Programming in Virtual Reality
Robert Matthew Sims, Nathan Rutherford, Prashanthy Sukumaran, Nikola Yotov, Thomas Smith
Lancaster University, United Kingdom
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In this study we assess the effects of teaching fundamental programming concepts through a virtual reality (VR) visual block-based programming application and its impact on engagement. As a comparison study, participants played an existing desktop-based game (Lightbot) and the developed VR game (Logibot) covering similar gameplay mechanics and block-based programming. Initial results indicate that traditional desktop applications are currently more engaging than VR for teaching programming. We thus identify the need for careful design of interaction methods to support ease of use and reward factors to promote engagement in VR-based learning applications beyond the initial wow-factor.


Influence of HMD Type and Spatial Ability on Experiences and Learning in Place-based Education
Pejman Sajjadi, Jiayan Zhao, Jan Oliver Wallgrun, Peter La Femina, Alexander Klippel
The Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
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With the emergence of different types of Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs), researchers and educators must make informed decisions on what HMDs best support their needs. When performing experiments with relatively large populations, these decisions are largely affected by the sensing-scaling tradeoff between high-end tethered HMDs and lower-end standalone systems. Higher sensing affords a richer experience, but it is also associated with higher costs in terms of the HMD itself and the need for VR-ready computers. These limitations often impede instructors from using high-end HMDs in an efficient way with larger populations. We report on the results of a study in the context of place-based immersive VR (iVR) Geoscience education that compares the experiences and learning of 45 students after going through an immersive virtual field trip, using either a lower-sensing but scalable Oculus Quest or a higher-sensing but tethered HTC Vive Pro. Our results indicate that students who used the Quest reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction but also more simulator sickness (although still a very low number on average) compared to those who used an HTC Vive Pro. Our findings suggest that with content design considerations, standalone HMDs can be a viable replacement for high-end systems in large-scale studies. Furthermore, our results also suggest that in the context of place-based iVR education, the spatial abilities of students (i.e., sense-of-direction) can be a determining factor in their experiences and learning, and therefore an important topic of study for designing effective place-based iVR experiences.

Presentations

Failure and Success in Using Mozilla Hubs for Online Teaching in a Movie Production Course
Thommy Eriksson
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
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In the autumn 2020 the course Digital Movie Making was given in a fully online mode, due to the restrictions and lockdowns related to the covid-19 pandemic. With the intention of avoiding Zoom fatigue and provide a more creative and engaging online teaching environment, the social VR platform Mozilla Hubs was chosen for all the lectures, seminars and supervision. The two main reasons for choosing Mozilla Hubs were the openness of the platform, providing wide opportunities for creating and setting up your own virtual space, as well as the option to access the platform via a web browser. However, Mozilla Hubs have a number of usability and technical flaws, making it clumsy to use, and the initial course introduction and guest lecture suffered severe technical issues when all 25 students attended simultaneously. A decision was made to only use Mozilla Hubs for supervision, and this meetings with few students turned out successful. Based on the observations from these learning activities, a number of advantages and disadvantages with VR in general and Mozilla Hubs specifically is presented and discussed.


The Effect of Spatial Design on User Memory Performance Using the Method of Loci in Virtual Reality
Pierre-François Gerard, Frederic Fol Leymarie, William Latham
Goldsmiths, United Kingdom
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Based on the Method of Loci, the following experiment compares the effect of two different virtual environments on participants' memory performance. The primary task consists of remembering a sequence of random playing cards. Each virtual environment is based on a different architectural style with a different layout. One is inspired by a Palladian style architecture, and the other by a Modern curved architecture.


Attention management in a 'Smart' Classroom
Maria Erofeeva, Nils Oliver Klowait
Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Russian Federation
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Today, technologies like interactive whiteboards, augmented and virtual reality serve as instructional aids to facilitate interactive learning. The aim of this paper is to study how the use of such technologies impacts the dynamics of classroom attention management. Employing a multimodal conversation-analytic framework, we analyze videorecordings of the first encounters with interactive whiteboards, augmented reality and virtual reality across twelve in-person classroom lessons set in four Russian secondary schools. This paper highlights how the teacher, faced with a breakdown of regular channels for managing attention (such as mutually-orientable gaze), uses their voice and body to facilitate the temporal coordination of student contributions, maintain focus on a given classroom activity, and visibly monitor classroom dynamics. The findings suggest means to alleviate tensions between new and old teaching methods, and provide further evidence on the need for a granular vocabulary for the analysis of body-orientation in a classroom context.

Presentations
 
Implementing Decentralized Virtual Time in P2P Collaborative Learning Environment for Web XR
Nikolai Suslov
Krestianstvo.org, Russian Federation
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Virtual worlds and Web XR technologies offer to both programmers and domain experts nearly unlimited capabilities for creating novel computer-based simulated environments just in a web browser. Virtual time is becoming the new crucial concept of collaborative, immersive virtual learning environments (VLE). This paper explores the Croquet software architecture, which is known for its radical synchronization system with the notion of virtual time. It is ideal for developing collaborative serverless apps, but a tiny stateless server named reflector, on which Croquet heavily relies on still prevents doing that today. This paper presents the research, that transforms reflector into a peer-to-peer application Luminary, by implementing decentralized virtual time. The case study describes the prototype of a collaborative Rubik's Cube simulator, backed by three robots for kids. Finally showing how learners can easily experiment with augmenting physical reality, by creating fully synchronized, collaborative robots, operating in a P2P network.
 
 
METAL: Explorations into sharing 3D Educational content across Augmented Reality Headsets and Light Field Displays
Mengya Zheng, Xingyu Pan, Xuanhui Xu, Abraham Campbell
University College Dublin, Ireland
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Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality become increasingly popular in scientific visualization especially for education where they can support collaborative scientific visualization experiences in the classroom. However, the inherent limitations of head-mounted AR and VR tools are stemming the popularization of these existing content-sharing tools. Instead of sharing 3D educational content between AR/VR headsets, this paper proposes a novel prototype Mixed rEaliTy shAring pLatform (METAL) to allow for 3D educational content to be shared between a Microsoft HoloLens 2 and multiple Looking Glass displays which are a type of Light Field (Multi-view Autostereoscopic) display. This platform allows one teacher to use a HoloLens to manipulate and share different 3D contents with multiple student groups via the network, thus each student group can observe the synchronized 3D educational content with autostereoscopic experiences. Therefore, this proposed prototype enables a low-cost one-to-multiple 3D content sharing experience that allows intuitive 3D model interaction and seamless communication between the students and the teacher.
 
 
Design and Development of AR Applications in Online Higher Education A User-Centred Design Approach
Mitch Peters, Laura Calvet Liñan, Antoni Marín Amatller, Laura Porta Simó, Pierre Bourdin Kreitz
Open University of Catalonia, Spain
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The exploration of augmented reality’s (AR) potential in higher education teaching and learning demonstrates an impressive scope of critical inquiry. Online higher education (OHE) represents a transformation in learning practices and educational paradigms on a global scale, with a significant opportunity for the application of AR through e-learning. The overarching goal of the current study is to understand how the presence of AR applications in an OHE multimedia program impacts student learning. The study aims to design and develop a user-centered, AR prototype application that could be used to enhance student learning in STEM education. Implementing a user-centred approach ensures that learners are taken into account from the beginning of the design process and throughout the iterative design lifecycle. The current paper presents the results from the first phase of a multi-stage research project. First, conceptually designed personas, scenario reviews, and user journey mappings were developed based on identified learner needs and AR system requirements previously identified. The results show the design decisions made while revising AR scenarios from the learner’s perspective and exploring design requirements to ensure the feasibility of the AR application. An implication of our study is to demonstrate the value of a range of evaluation techniques presented here using a user-centred design approach, which can be used to design and develop future AR and Xtended reality technologies in educational scenarios.

Presentations

Measuring and Comparing QoE and Simulator Sickness of Hybrid VR Applications under increased network load
Ioannis Doumanis(1), Daphne Economou(2), Lemonia Argyriou(3)
1: University of Central Lanchashire; 2: University of Westminster; 3: National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos
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The elements of presence and interaction have been connected with high quality learning in online learning environments. This can be achieved by offering learning environments and material that can engage the learner throughout the learning experience, allow them to connect with the content, find relevance, construct meaning and critical thinking. Hybrid VR applications offer great potential in engaging learners in environments that accurately capture the world allowing them to make personal connections and find relevance, which coupled with branching narrative, Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) and interactivity can lead to highly engaging learning experiences. Hybrid VR applications though are bandwidth demanding that can impact the learning experience. This paper presents a study comparing the Quality of Experience (QoE) of a hybrid VR application streamed over the standard internet and POINT network under increased network load. The paper presents the project motivations, it described a pilot study and its output and it closes with conclusions about the effect of the QoE and presence in learning and future directions.

Presentations

Getting there? Together. Cultural Framing of Augmented and Virtual Reality for Art Education
Regina Maria Bäck(1), Rainer Wenrich(1), Birgit Dorner(2)
1: Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt; 2: Katholische Stiftungshochschule München
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Informal learning contexts of creating and exploring artefacts through Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are increasingly common. Nevertheless, insights on art educators` perspectives on potential for conceptualization and classroom implementation are scarce. In this study, both art educators a artists share their perspectives on a variety of AR/VR applications, from creating in multiplayer mode to exploring artefacts and loci in SocialVR.
Overall, twenty art educators were exploring a selection of AR/VR applications. The data was collected during online workshops with art teachers coming from diverse backgrounds (elementary and secondary school, special education). Interviews were conducted with six media artists, including pioneers of AR/VR art. Grounded Theory Methodology, specifically Situational Analysis as well as Visual Grounded Theory Methodology was applied. Results highlight media cultural perspectives in proximity and distance to AR/VR related "worlds", by classifying different journeys from first encounter to conceptualization and implementation.


Mobile Augmented Reality Applications in Teaching: A Proposed Technology Acceptance Model
George Koutromanos(1), Tassos A. Mikropoulos(2)
1: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece; 2: University of Ioannina, Greece
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This study proposed MARAM, a mobile augmented reality acceptance model that determines the factors that affect teachers’ intention to use AR applications in their teaching. MARAM extends TAM by adding the variables of perceived relative advantage, perceived enjoyment, facilitating conditions, and mobile self – efficacy. MARAM was tested in a pilot empirical study with 127 teachers who used educational mobile AR applications and developed their own ones. The results of regression analysis showed that MARAM can predict a satisfactory percentage of the variance in teachers’ intention, attitude, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Attitude, perceived usefulness, and facilitating conditions affected intention. Both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment affected attitude. Furthermore, perceived relative advantage and perceived enjoyment affected perceived usefulness. In addition, mobile self-efficacy and facilitating conditions affected perceived ease of use. However, perceived ease of use did not have any effect on attitude and perceived usefulness. MARAM could serve as the basis for future studies on teachers’ acceptance of mobile AR applications and be expanded through the addition of other variables.